9:23am
by mrboogie94
Summary: Her eyes clouded as she whispered, "I don't think I can do this."


_I haven't written for in such a long time.. so I'm really rusty. Forgive me. The characters are may seem a bit OOC, but it's just fanfiction. I'm just trying to entertain y'all. This is inspired by one of the 50 sentences from "Bonds" (written by and that's all she wrote). _

**Disclaimer: **Young Justice is not mine. No, no, no, no, no. How I wish it was.. I would twist it around so much. I'm not sure if that's such a good thing.

She's glad that the first thing her eyes meet in the morning is not the digital clock resting on the nightstand. She had enough of the outdated mechanism through the first few years of college. Late nights, early mornings - things got better and she's grateful for that.

What she wakes up to is the smell of a freshly bathed toddler from the night before snuggled close to her torso. The young girl's hair is dark and unruly like her mother's. Her father tries to tame it each night, hoping that the image of Jade Nguyen would no longer haunt him.

Artemis loves the little bunny, regardless. It's not because they share blood, but because she's Roy Harper's child. Lian grounds them in a way neither of them can describe.

Artemis strokes the back of her hair before leaning over to kiss her. Lian smells so much like Roy, but at the same time she doesn't. It's a little overwhelming, but it helps Artemis when she misses him. There is no reason to actually miss him since he's only a few steps away in the washroom taking a shower. Her eyes hit the ceiling as the water turns on.

Her arm stays loosely around Lian as she tries to remember her plans for the day. Her schedule had rolled out the back of her mind last night when she and Roy were occupied.

"Breakfast," she murmurs to herself. Going out into town sounds like a decent plan. _Bagels and cream cheese or eggs? Maybe pancakes. Lian likes those. _

Her thoughts are interrupted as the bedroom door flies open as if a light breeze had made its way into the apartment. M'gann floats in above ground with Zatanna and Raquel padding softly on foot after her. They're full of smiles and excitement, but they remain somewhat quiet.

M'gann giggles, landing gently on the mattress slightly off the edge next to Artemis. She gives her a tight hug from behind. "Happy Birthday."

"What?" The blonde's face appears stunned. Raquel laughs. Zatanna just smiles, shushing her.

"You forgot. You totally forgot," Raquel continues to laugh.

Artemis snorts. She hardly has time for herself these days. "I can barely make out yesterday's lunch special at the diner."

"You and food. Always." M'gann grins, poking at Artemis with her green finger.

Raquel stands by the foot of the bed while Zatanna snuggles close to Lian on the right side of the mattress. The little one is a heavy sleeper. Roy is thankful, for obvious reasons.

"Good," he had told Artemis blandly after she had mentioned his daughter's new sleeping habit. Artemis huffed, mentally noting that she was the one who put his kid to bed most nights. Lian had been yearning for her father more the past year.

"I love her," Zatanna coos sweetly against Roy's pillow. She takes a quick whiff of Lian's hair. "And she isn't even mine."

Artemis smiles sadly, taking the band off her wrist. M'gann tidies up the backside of her hair before sitting it in a low ponytail for her.

Feeling the snap against her head, the archer says, "She's not mine either."

Her voice is low, but serious. A comfortable silence passes through the room because the statement has come up more than once in the past few years. Raquel takes the time to focus her vision somewhere else. Zatanna closes her eyes and holds Lian closer, as if she can shield her from the truth. Artemis' name lingers in the air, hanging from M'gann's mouth. There's a trace of heartache in her tone.

When Lian was born, Jade nearly died. Roy didn't know. Artemis contacted him once she reached the hospital. Once Jade had recovered, Roy was given custody and in a silent but subtle manner, Jade gave Artemis custody too. Not once did Jade hold Lian or ask for her at any time before she was wheeled away. Artemis couldn't say no to her sister's gift of life. She couldn't leave that child. She didn't want her to suffer.

Roy was obviously uncomfortable as he held Lian for the first time. Artemis watched in shock with her fingers against her parched lips, hoping he wouldn't crush the infant. He was careful, but he still looked to Artemis for reassurance.

"Is this okay?" He asked with his voice less harsh and pained than how he usually spoke to her. Artemis kept her lips firm. She nodded silently and touched his arm before they left for the car.

They lived with Paula Crock for a week after Lian was born. It wasn't working out much to their liking and Artemis knew it wouldn't in the long run once they had returned from the hospital. The environment was too dingy for a baby and the apartment itself felt too tight for the four of them. Roy and Artemis finally agreed on something and left with Lian to live with Ollie and Dinah.

"I'm sorry I took your granddaughter away." Artemis left small messages for her mother after some convincing from Dinah. She couldn't find the right words.

"_I'm sorry I took your daughter away." _Roy did the same. He never told Artemis.

Juggling Wally, Lian and Roy was one massive headache after the other for the female archer. She argued with both boys constantly. Wally was ticked that she had to take care of Lian when she wasn't even hers to begin with.

"She is family, Wally. _Family_," she snapped one afternoon at the cave after the other members of the team had dispersed. "She's my responsibility. I-I can't...I don't trust her in Roy's care."

He scoffed. "Yet you two share the same bed."

She let out shaky breath. "We don't-"

"Save it," he grimaced, terminating their short-lived relationship with two words and a single glare. He wanted her, but he couldn't manage what she came with.

She didn't lie to Wally. She just didn't give him the real details. She and Roy slept far apart from each other during their first year together, acting as guard rails for Lian incase she rolled over. Artemis couldn't deny the fact that her fondness for Roy was growing as each day went by, even if he was the biggest pain in her ass. Metaphorically.

She loved that he supported her during school. The times he would call her for little things about dinner, the weekend, Lian or herself. The fact that he had stood up for her to Wally, even if it wasn't his place. The way he welcomed M'gann, Raquel and Zatanna into his home - _their _home.

The moments when they did fight were brutal. They were more verbal than they thought. The biggest implosions began when Lian started talking. There was no problem calling Roy dad. But she didn't know how to address Artemis and even Artemis didn't know what she wanted to be called.

"What's wrong with 'mom'?"

He didn't understand. She never thought of herself that way. She was just the aunt - the nanny.

She stared at him in disbelief. "I'm not her mother."

"Eliminate biology from this equation," he said, taking a hold of her shoulders. "Please. You are her mother."

Her eyes clouded as she whispered, "I don't think I can do this."

She cried a lot, wanting too much. She moved in with Zatanna, continued with her college courses and went back to the cave once in awhile. Wally avoided her and she didn't even care. She had the girls. At first it felt like enough to fill the empty void Lian and Roy had left her, but it didn't even cover half of it.

Zatanna pulled her aside one day after class, trying to talk some sense into her. "She needs you and you need her. Look at yourself."

Artemis groaned as they made their way back to their apartment for a late snack.

"Listen," Zatanna pressed, digging up a voicemail on their landline.

"No one calls me," she mumbled, slightly fibbing. She didn't account for her mother.

"Hush up and listen, girlie."

Artemis swallowed as she heard Lian giggling on the other end. Roy's voice became clear. "She's fine, but she misses you."

There was a brief pause. Zatanna watched her friend closely, waiting for the last sentence from Roy. She had replayed the message about half a dozen times earlier in the day.

"_I _miss you," he sighed, "and I'm sorry about before. I know it's a lot to deal with. The door's always open if you want to come home."

"_Your daughter needs you."_

Artemis finds M'gann's voice trickling into her mind once again like it did so many years ago. Raquel and Zatanna's murmuring fades out. Only the martian is in Artemis' focus.

"_She needs you, Artemis."_

The blonde has a hard time keeping eye contact with people. It came with time with Roy. She gets flustered too easily, but she tries for M'gann and ends up swallowing a pathetic cry in the process. She mouths a wobbly "okay" and allows her oldest girlfriend to hold her.

"You're her mother," she whispers, rubbing her back, "and you're a fighter."

Roy's shower ends abruptly. Raquel thinks it's too long for a man to be in there, but she isn't there to judge. She holds up her hands in defense as Zatanna makes snarky faces at her. Lian slowly starts to stir from her deep slumber. She rubs her eyes and reaches over for Artemis, but settles in the magician's comforting embrace.

"Morning, cutie," Zatanna says, resting her chin on top of the girl's head. "It's your mum's birthday."

"Want me to get her dressed?" M'gann asks, wiping the sleep from Artemis' eyes.

"We have presents and breakfast in the kitchen," Zatanna continues warmly, playing with Lian's hands. Raquel lets out a hearty laugh at the enlightenment in Artemis' expression. Food trumps all.

Steam escapes from the bathroom and Roy enters back into the bedroom with a towel hanging loosely around his waist. It's M'gann's turn to giggle in embarrassment. Zatanna covers Lian's eyes and then her own in a jokingly manner.

"Pants!" Raquel cries dramatically and Zatanna throws her head back in a fit of hysterics.

"I didn't complain when you three moved in across the street," he muses, somewhat enjoying the attention.

"Pants, Roy," Artemis says, trying to hide the sudden merriment in her voice. M'gann buries her face in a pillow to laugh freely.

The redhead winks at Artemis from across the room before striding into the walk-in closet. He never fails to make her stomach churn in the good way.

M'gann takes Lian into her arms and bring her back to her room to get ready for the day. Zatanna tends to the food in the kitchen and Raquel finally pulls Artemis out of bed and gives her a push to the bathroom.

Artemis stands in front of the mirror in the bathroom and brushes her teeth with Raquel chatting to her by the door frame. Artemis laughs, trying to keep the toothpaste in her mouth. Raquel leaves the room once Roy is fully clothed.

"Happy Birthday," he tells her from Raquel's spot. It's not even in a seductive manner, but Artemis just nods in amusement with the toothbrush still in her mouth and her free hand on her hip. She leans over the sink to spit and rinse and when she straightens herself out, Roy's already in the bathroom with her, leaning down to kiss her temple affectionately.

Despite the trials they had to endure - Jade, Wally and Lian included - Artemis would not have her life any other way.


End file.
